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Tokenised celebrations of black womanist leaders negate their success

17 November 2020 | Story Nombulelo Shange | Photo Pixabay

tokenised_web read more — Two black women made history recently, but while celebrating these women, we have done a disservice to them. Maybe without intending to we have tokenised them, focusing more on the fact that they are black women, instead of on their remarkable career achievements and victories.

History has been made globally and here at home. In the US, Kamala Harris became the first black woman to become vice president, while locally we celebrate the appointment of Prof Puleng LenkaBula’s appointment as the first black female Vice-Chancellor of the largest university in Africa, the University of South Africa (Unisa). When both announcements were made, I was personally filled with hope and joy that transformation is possible and we are all living witnesses to it. But while celebrating these women in the media, in our communities, within academia and social media, we have done a disservice to them. Maybe without intending to we have tokenised them, focusing more on the fact that they are black women, instead of on their remarkable career achievements and victories that have built them up to the powerful roles they hold today.

Representation is important for young black girls

Listen, I am not saying we must not celebrate when black women make it into leadership positions. They have to be celebrated because representation is so important for young black girls who are often told by the world that they are not important or will never amount to anything great. We have to celebrate them as black women because they often have to work 10 times harder to get half the recognition. And this is the point that I am making. These women and many others before them who were/are “firsts” in their fields have worked much harder than male or white predecessors. They have had to work harder while also fighting the patriarchal whiteness woven into our systems and workplaces.

The systems constantly find new and creative ways to negate black womanist labour and achievements, while trying to keep black women at the same level. Many of us in these situations feel powerless and give up and become content with “just getting by”. Or we end up skipping from job to job, often to find the new environment is more toxic than the last. So when black women are successful in battling these aggressions while making remarkable strides in their careers we have a responsibility to celebrate their accomplishments and list their endless achievements in the same way we do for men. This is also important because often when women and people of colour occupy positions of power, there is often the assumption that they are purely “transformation” or “BBBEE” hires and are/were not the most suitable candidate for the position.

Celebrate her work and scholarly contribution

So I want to take this opportunity to move beyond celebrating Prof Puleng, the black woman, I want to celebrate her work and scholarly contribution. I have followed and admired her work, especially her scholarly contribution and leadership style. In her role as Deputy Vice-Chancellor responsible for Institutional Change, Student Affairs, and engaged scholarship at the University of the Free State (UFS), she has demonstrated the kind of leadership that encourages critical dialogue. She fights for the empowerment of all, while pushing the door open for others who are marginalised by violent epistemology that often limits the involvement of black people, women, LGBT+ and disabled groups and individuals in higher education.

Prof Puleng encourages young people to transform the spaces they find themselves in, while advancing themselves in their work and intellectual engagement. There are many instances where she has done this for junior colleagues and even students, but one example that comes to mind is the August 2019 Universities in Dialogues engagement. The dialogue was hosted at the University of Pretoria, with the UFS, University of Cape Town and the University of Witwatersrand Skyping the debate and making contributions on the motion; “South Africa requires a feminist government to advance gender equity and equality across all sectors of society.” What really showed me she is a leader who not only cares for the discourse, but for people, was her insistence that we still work together beyond the engagement. As busy as she was, she pushed us to continue the discussion, meeting in her offices to write reflections on the process and share with them with stakeholders we identified as important within UFS and externally. We had long debates amongst ourselves long after the dialogue, where she motivated us to make sense of this topic and how it links to our lived experiences, using the existing contributions by feminist scholars like Bell Hooks, Amina Mama, Audre Lorde, Mercy Oduyoye, and many others to help us analyse and build on our own theorising.

When it comes to her own strong scholarly contributions, she is too shy to recommend her own work as an important resource to draw from when we navigate systems. But within her scholarly contributions, she disrupts the status quo in similar ways to how she has created disruption by becoming Unisa’s first black female vice-chancellor. Her contributions are disruptive because she intentionally cites black theorists and writers, not just because they are black, but because their contributions are the most important for the African context. She did this knowing that it could potentially have a negative impact on her career, as the academy will always question; “where are the founding fathers?” when scholarly work does not represent the works of white men writing centuries ago about their European contexts. Instead of trying to squeeze African experiences and challenges into western boxes, she draws from far more capable African scholars.

Black women fought to get in

She also disrupts predetermined academic categorisations that confine scholars to their respective disciplines. She realises that life does not exist in the predetermined vacuum that academia creates. Life has complex intersecting systems that influence each other and people. This is how society should be researched and analysed, with the intersecting complexities in mind. This is reflected in many of her contributions. One example is “Beyond Anthropocentricity – Botho/Ubuntu and the Quest for Economic and Ecological Justice in Africa”. This paper cuts across multiple disciplines, including ecological justice, the economy and the African humanist philosophy of botho.

Globally she has also made her mark. She has worked as a visiting Professor at the University of Toronto and Emmanuel College. She has also acted as a consultant for global movements such as the World Communion of Reformed churches, the World Council of Churches and the Council for World Mission, which are at the forefront of progressive thinking about ecological, economic and gender issues.

This piece could easily turn into a thesis if I had to list and discuss all of Prof Puleng’s accomplishments. So, as we celebrate Prof Puleng the black woman, let us also remember to celebrate her journey, battles, victories and even losses. Let us also do this for other black women who will break the glass ceiling to transform places which will also want to be celebrated for finally allowing black women in, when the truth is that black women fought to get in and their institutional efforts are long overdue.

Opinion article by Nombulelo Shange, Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, University of the Free State

News Archive

SRC Inauguration speech: 22 January 2005

2005-01-22

Campus Head (Prof Peter Mbati). Dean of Students (Dr Natie Luyt). Deputy Director: Student Affairs and my boss (Mr. Teboho Manchu), Members of the University executive and Academic staff members, SRC members, Leaders of trade Unions and Student organizations, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen, most importantly first entering students and Parents receive my heartfelt revolutionary greetings.

Let me extend my word of appreciation to our distinguished guests for adding value and dignity to this event. Your presence here means a lot to us. Program Director what I bring here with me, assisted by facts, and is therefore just the work of my imagination. Like a love letter addressed to a sweetheart miles away, even though you do not know how she feels, what she wants to hear, and do not even know how her face looks like.

To me a speech is just an honest and intimate conversation. That is why I got into the habit of establishing a dialogue, or a debate, with my acquaintances looking at their faces and trying to persuade them of what I am telling them.

Mr. Speaker and Madam Deputy Speaker of the Student Parliament we are gathering at this ceremony, significantly few weeks after the release of grade 12 results, with the exception of those from Mpumalanga because of fraud. The Grade 12 results also show that only 18% of Black learners matriculated with exemptions, as compared to 53, 6% of white learners. This is an indication that our education system needs an overhaul.

We are also gathered here significantly a day after the management retreat held in Bloemfontein, Masselspoort. The retreat discussed, among other things, the transformation agenda, and some possible solutions to challenges we are facing now.

Most regrettably, we are gathered here when the whole world morns the victims of Tsunami tragedy. Let me therefore tore the line and convey our deepest condolences, from the last robot of my heart, to the affected families. Our hearts and thoughts will always be occupied by this horrified tragedy.

Creating a new Institution

I would submit, for purposes of debate and discussions that this Institution should strive to specialize and excel in regional rural development studies. Since our higher education, institutions in South Africa are generally weak in rural development studies. Instead, most of them tend to have an urban orientation to their programmes. Training everybody for the cities, big business and the private sector. This is a big weakness in a country with such large rural areas and population trapped in poverty, disease and ignorance.

Women’s studies

Program Director, it is only a moron who can argue against the fact that for us to reposition the institution around the regional development challenge, we need to start first with women empowerment. It is a fact that in most of our poor communities and families, it is women who withstand the worst of poverty. They are the ones who daily have to wipe tears from children who are hungry. It is women who look after the sick, the elderly, those dying from AIDS and the jobless. They are the one who have to fetch water, make fire and cook. There can therefore be no rural development studies without women studies, in particular on how to empower them and assist in the provision of basic services, so that they are relieved from some of the burdensome task of the society.

Registration Process

Mr. Speaker and Madam Deputy Speaker of the Student Parliament let me indicate that the registration is a process and not an event, so it cannot be concluded overnight. This huge process demands for people to stay calm, as there is no crisis. People should stop being excited. At the same time, no organization should use its cheap popularity and unilaterally disrupt the continuous and smooth running of the registration process at hand.

Let me strongly indicate, madam deputy speaker, that I am on record for stating that I have forgiven all those who have wronged us. I harbour no bitterness towards the protagonists of our painful and unfortunate events of the past week. And we will overcome this process not by our own devices but by the help of Almighty God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Concerning registration of first years, we have programs, concerning that of senior students, we have programs, regarding graduations we have programs, and concerning HIV\AIDS we have programs. So, there is no need for people to press panicking buttons.

Mr. Speaker and Madam Deputy Speaker of the Student Parliament let me be opportunistic and welcome the entire student body on Campus for the academic year 2005. May our lovely first entering students have a happy and momentous year as part of Qwaqwa Campus of University of the Free State. May your studies be fruitful and enjoyable.

Student years are generally the happiest years of your life, so please make the most of them. While you are doing, all your preparations bear in mind that University is not an opportunity, it is just creating opportunities for a person.

On behalf of SRC members, our people, our students and management members I would like to welcome you all. Even though your parents are far away, here at Uniqwa you have more brothers, more sisters and more parents. Since we will love you with the same love as if we are from one family, and I have no doubts that management members will love and care for you as if you are their own children. Should you encounter any problem while studying at the Qwaqwa Campus of University of the Free State do not hesitate to contact us at the SRC offices because we need to ameliorate any factor influencing you negatively while on campus. I wish you well in the attainment of your academic pursuit.

Senior Students: We are not faced with just a new year but another academic year where we all have to work together to achieve our common goal of building our Institution through the development of human power. I urge you to invest your whole selves in this SRC.

For quite some time now, a debate has been ranging as to, whether has there been any progress in this incorporation process, or we are just moving with no direction. This debate is important, but I hasten to add not essential. The SRC is also involved in this debate, but with definite shift in emphasis. For us it is not important to participate in the debate than it is in finding solutions for the challenges of this new chapter in the history of humankind.

To my colleagues: Comrades, we are leading this Institution with a sense of pride and duty, and I know very well that we lead men and women, students who are determined to ensure that we all reach our destination safely and on time.

I said in one of our meetings that there are more enemies on our way, more than we can imagine. I think you witnessed that during the course of this week. The excitement and unnecessary confusions caused by some confused and loosed charlatans bear testimony to my statements. We should not reveal our game plans unless we are ready to slam.

Let me also borrow from the words of the late Albert Lethuli when he said and I quote: “There remains before us the building of the new land, from the ruins of the old narrow groups, a synthesis of the rich cultural strains which we have inherited. The task is immense”. Lastly, a navy divided within its ranks will be vanquished and destroyed by the enemy, but a navy united in purpose and action, loyalty and commitment will not drawn but sail on to victory.

In conclusion, let me call upon all political structures, church denominations, developmental structures, clubs, societies and forums to put aside all their differences, ideological insinuations and forge unity towards transforming Qwaqwa Campus of University of the Free State into an institution that is seen playing vigilant role in developing students academically, politically, socially, spiritually, religiously, culturally and otherwise.

Program Director, let me end my speech by indicating that every drop of my blood is telling me that Uniqwa is my home. I firstly became a student here, I became an activist here, I became a leader here, I became a president here, I will become a graduant here and hopefully I will become an employee here. So never, doubt my commitment towards the community of this campus.

Please be informed, in a central University of Technology’s way, that if there is no UNIQWA in HEAVEN, then I am not GOING.

Let us broaden the social base.

Tello Titus Wa-Motloung President General

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